This paper describes how theory was used to plan, develop, implement and evaluate the educational component of a comprehensive child pedestrian intervention in Australia. The intervention was based on four groups of contemporary theory that focus on individual's behavior, children's perceptual and motor development and the relationships between individuals and their environments, and organizational change and implementation. Organizational and planning theories were used to guide the conceptual development, implementation, and evaluation of the program, while behavioral and child development theories were used to identify the content and strategies to address the pedestrian behavior of 7 to 9 year old children. The resultant program demonstrated improved road crossing and playing behaviors in the intervention group children compared to those in the comparison group. The theoretically driven process employed in the intervention project appears to have strongly contributed to its success.
Abstract